A Fallen Angel
by My Alchemic Romance
Summary: A Mysterious girl ends up befriending the Elric siblings, and she was thrown into their dimention for a specific reason. She just needs to find out what it is...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters.

Chapter 1:Rebirth

"Charlotte" A voice called to her from beyond the dark abyss, clawing gashes into the silence that consumed her. "But I-" she ran her fingers up and down her pale blue arms, cold to the touch. "Charlotte, I've been waiting for you." From the pitch-black came a light, it was soft at first, then grew to fill the void between her and "it" whatever "it" was. "Charlotte," came the raspy voice once more, sounding more like a stir of echoes, millions of voices crawling their way up it's windpipe to be heard over the others. "Who are y-you?" The woman known as Charlotte shivered and convulsed due to the temperature of her skin. "I am everything, and yet I am nothing, I am even..." a pure white figure came forth, meshing with the blinding light in the background, aside from it's ear -to - ear grin. It resembled Charlotte, in a sort of disheveled way, completely bare, though no features. "You... I am Truth." Charlotte heaved a heavy sigh, expelling cool air from her mouth. "This isn't right. I shouldn't be here." Truth transported itself so it appeared directly before the blue girl. "Oh but you need to be dear. Your special." Truth retch out it's arm, cupping her cheek. The sensation was like nothing she had ever experienced, a mixture of needles and a third -degree burn. Charlotte cried out in pain, gripping its wrist with both hands, receiving an even worse pain. "You bastard!" Truth released her grasp on the helpless zombie girl before her. Charlotte fell pathetically to the side, whimpering from the burning sensation still present throughout her frozen body. "How..." She heaved out the word, using every bit of energy she had left in her frail body. "It's a simple answer you fool! You have been chosen, you were created solely for this purpose." Charlotte sat up and turned toward the white doppleganger. "What ... Is my ...purpose?" Truth cackled maniacally, throwing it's head back . "That's for you to find out you pathetic excuse for an immortal." charlotte rose to her feet, steadying herself with one hand. From the blinding light came a large gate, gargantuan even. "You have no choice Charlotte." Truth laughed again, causing charlotte to become more and more frustrated. "What the hell are you?" the woman flung her almost fully life-less body toward Truth. Toward the gate. Truth simply vaporized away with another ear-shattering squeal, leaving Charlotte running full-on toward the slowly opening gate. It revealed an eye, then many hands that resembled children's. all gunning for the emaciated Charlotte. Said girl was currently digging her bare feet into the non-existent ground to stop herself cold. The arms lashed out and tackled her, dragging her into an unwelcoming void of darkness. Charlotte screamed one last time before the gates closed with a mighty slam.

Charlotte was still in the gates grasp, twisting and turning but to no avail. She was trapped. Suddenly she grew light-headed, film-strip-like images whirred past her, filled with memories from her childhood, and symbols. Alchemic symbols. All the information was jammed into her head, filling the missing memories of her past. Her cranium felt as if it was going to cave in when suddenly, dark. Again.

"Hawkeye! Get me some hot towels! NOW!" Charlotte looked up at a raven-haired man through glazed eyes. He was carrying her bridal-style while she lied in his arms helplessly. She closed her eyes and rolled her head into the man's uniformed chest, feeling a sense of relief and security. "Hughes! She's bleeding profusely, get me some gauze!" she could feel his eyes staring down at her, though she was only half-conscious. "Stay with me..." He shook her lightly and placed her on a cold, but soft, bed. "Hawkeye!" he called again, this time more agitated. A woman, with blonde hair pulled up into a bun, ran to his side with a sense of loyalty. Another man, glasses pinching the end of his nose from running around so furiously. A small strand of hair jutted up and out from his head. He put pressure on the center of her chest, just above her breasts. She felt a warm liquid slide down into her neck, and onto her shoulders. Her eyes slid up to meet the man who cradled her, he held her gaze, then her hand. His were sheathed in white gloves and surprisingly warm, he spoke : "What's your name?" she blinked her eyes lazily and responded: "Cha-Charlotte." she shook ferociously and tightened her grip on his hand, as the glasses-bound man slipped a needle into her wound, closing up the gash in her chest. A silent tear slipped down her cheek, gazing up at the man once more before slipping into a heavy slumber. "We're losing her!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 : The Awakening"Charlotte?" said girl stirred in her slumber, the once bleeding wound now closed up. "Ma'm?" slowly, Charlotte came to her senses and sat up, with the assistance of the blonde woman adjacent to her. Charlotte looked up at her with half questioning eyes, the other half was partially asleep. "Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, I was put in charge of you for your time in the infirmary." Riza put out her hand, which Charlottee eventually took. "Charlotte Wintercrest. Thank you." Riza was a motherly figure, she was put on this earth to be a mom it seems like. This was her first time she had ever nursed a child back to health. "How old are you, Charlotte?" Charlotte released her hand and rubbed her eyes, pulling the bed sheets down to see her gash, tilting her head at an odd angle. "Thirteen." Riza smiled warmly "I know a kid your age; he's a State Alchemist."The curly- headed blonde's eyes shot wide open as she sat up straight and turned to Riza, obviously intrigued "Alchemist? You mean he's that young and knows so much already?" Riza laughed lightly, which was a rarity for her. "Yes. He's very talented." a knock at the door made then both jump slightly, in strode two men, both from yesterday. "I see your making friends with Lieutenant Hawkeye..." a deep voice erupted from he man who held her hand the day before. The more childish man beside him chimed in "Hi! Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes, pleased to meet such a beautiful girl like you!" he shook her frail hand venomously before the more broad man stepped in. "And I'm Roy Mustang, Flame Alchemist and Colonel of the Military." his eyes were much stronger than they were yesterday, he was extremely vulnerable as they sewed her up. "Thanks for...saving me Roy." he half smiled, hands behind his back. "How did you find me?" Hughes practically burst out of his uniform, obviously knowing the answer. "You were lying outside of HQ, a bullet wound in your chest. " Roy chimed in, much to Maes' annoyance. "It's amazing you survived with that bullet so close to your heart." now it was Riza's turn to add to the pot of curiosity already brewing. "How did that happen anyway?" Charlotte looked dumfounded, she was clueless as to what had happened, then it hit her. "I, I came to this gate, a huge, grey gate, with an eye in the center." She sped up her description. "and all these arms and so many pictures... " Roy looked down to her, even though her knew how incredulous it sounded, it seemed to be the truth. "As for my wound...I don't remember." she grasped the bed sheet with both hands "I just wish I knew.". Riza returned to Roy'a side, she felt most at home there. "I think I know someone who can help you. You just stay here and rest, in about an hour I will have Lieutenant Jean Havoc show you to your apartment." Charlotte looked up with tear-filled eyes, and leaned up, embracing roy's neck. "I can't thank you enough." her warm tears dripped down his neck, instantly becoming cold. "You don't need to."

"So, you got a hug from Mustang?" a tall, blonde man turned his head around to talk to the girl behind him, a cigarette hanging on the precipice of his bottom lip. "Yeah, he saved my life after all. He held my hand too." Havoc chuckled "Wow, he doesn't get close to many people, his best friend is probably Hawkeye, and that's not saying much." they continued down the halls, turning into doors that needed special codes and whatnot. "Well, this is your room. If you need anything, there's a phone and the Elric Brothers are right next door." he shook Charlotte's hand, at a much slower pace than Hughes. "Thank you Havoc." She closed the door and gazed around her apartment, it was decorated extremely well, everything played off one another. From the blue drapes, to the violet bed spread. She was left with only one question though, "Who were the Elric brothers?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 : Shot Through The Heart, Who's To Blame?Edward was busy reading up on his alchemy when the phone rang. "Fullmetal, I need you. NOW." Edward simply hung up without a word, pulling on his trademark red coat. "C'mon Al, Colonel God-Complex needs us." Alphonse stood up from the kitchen table with a loud clamor. He had grown accustomed to the noises, he had been bound to the suit for quite sometime now. "What's he need us for?" the golden eyed boy shrugged, "Probably some criminal we have to track down and kill, like the usual." Edward said, with a of tinge sarcasm. Alphonse sighed "Let's brothers walked into Mustang's office. Everything seemed to be in order, him, sitting at his desk with that cocky smirk on his face, piles of paper littering his "workspace" and Riza standing loyally by his side, sorting through documents. "What's the issue now?" Edward seated himself on the couch, without being invited to. "You have been put in charge of a girl with amnesia." Edward stared gravely at Mustang. "What am I supposed to do with a girl who lost her memory?" Roy slammed his hands on his desk, standing to his feet. Truth be told, Edward was a little frightened. "You will keep her company until her memory returns. And when it does, find her a home!" Roy's voice had rose to a crescendo, echoing throughout the empty white room. The boys sat and mulled over Mustang's rant, then he spoke again, much softer now. "She's next door to you. Her name is Charlotte, take care of her. Thats an order." "Charlotte, huh?" Edward sat at the Central's cafeteria, accompanied by Alphonse and the surrounding Military soldiers. Al sat silently, watching his brother sip away on a Coke. "That's what he said." Edward cocked a brow "Isn't Winry visiting tomorrow?" he said, never looking up from his soda. "Why?" Al asked slyly "Do you miss her?" Edward's face reddened to the point where his face meshed with his jacket, which he snuggled his head into. "No!...I just wondered." He mumbled pathetically. "Anyway, we should introduce ourselves to "Charlotte.'" Edward tossed his can aside and walked out of the room, his face not showing any sign of returning to it's usual peach color."Do we even know what this chick looks like?" Edward looked up at his younger metal-cast brother. "Not a clue Brother " Edward scratched his scalp with a small sigh. "This oughtta be fun." Alphonse stopped in the middle of the hallway, "Brother, dont be so negative. She might be really kind." They passed the clothes store in the detached wing of Central, where the apartments and grocery store was located. Edward turned to see a blonde girl, her back turned to him. Her blonde tresses rolled down to her mid-back, it was done up in a messy pony-tail, with curls protruding from each side of her head. She wore a belted sky-blue shirt, with denim shorts. "...Al...?" Edward stopped and watched the girl wander around the store. "Yes?" "Wasn't Winry coming tomorrow?" Al leaned forward to see the girl, "Yea..." Edward walked into the store, approaching the Winry look-alike. "Winry! whaddya doing here a day early?" alphonse chimed in with a loud clinking "And your hair looks nice, did you get a perm?" She whipped around with a puzzled look on her face. "Uhm, my name isnt Winry. Its Charlotte..." She eerily resembled the mechanic, aside from her curly hair and emerald eyes. "Wha-" The blonde teen's jaw hit the floor. "You're...but...I thought-...huh?" Charlotte was just as confused as Ed was. Alphonse, being the level-headed brother, stepped in and took over this vexing problem. He retch out his steel hand to Charlotte, who took it reluctantly. "Sorry, we though you were someone else, I'm Alphonse Elric." She dropped his hand instantly. "An Elric brother?" Edward stepped between the pair, making himself appear palpable. "Yep! That's us, the world renowned Elric brothers." She gave a quizzical look to the shorter brother. "Other than today, I haven't heard of you." Edward hung his head in shame. "But, I was told you would help me with my memory..." He lifted his head back up and gave her a small smile. The slightly taller female returned the favor, tilting her head slightly. Revealing a wound above her breasts. "Uh..." His face heated up for the second time that day. "I hope you don't think I'm being perverted, but I-I-I couldn't help but notice..." He pointed a gloved finger to the center of his chest. She followed his eyes, returning back to the spot on her chest. "Oh, don't worry about it. It's not exactly subtle." she shrugged off the awkward moment and continued "I don't really know, Maes told me it was a gunshot wound." she placed a feminine hand over it. "I don't remember anything before that."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 : An Understanding HeartWinry walked through the same hallway she took everytime she visited, same elevator, same concrete path. This time, she would be staying for a while longer. A week at most. She hasn't seen the boys in over three months, she felt a visit was in order. Her luggage was about to burst out of it's seams, god only knows what she had in there. Eventually, she came to the door labeled : "Elric Apt." she knocked three times, waiting for a response. She knocked again, more agitated this time. She scowled at the door knob, whipping out her box of tools from her luggage, she dismantled the knob. The now knob-less door creaked open. Two brothers were met with an angry Winry. A "You're in HUGE trouble" look on her face, knob in hand. "Boys, your knob seems to be busted." she looked down at the few screws in her palm. "Maybe somebody should fix that." she tossed it to Edward. "WHAT THE HELL WINRY! YOU HAVE A KEY!" Her eyes grew wide as she fondled through her pocket "Oh, yeah...my bad..." she smiled an innocent smile, she knew she would be off the hook. Edward noticed her outrageously large luggage case. "Do you have a dead body in there or something?" Winry put on a serious face and deadpanned: "Very funny alchemy fr-" she craned her head around Alphonse, googling at the girl next to him. Alphonse caught her stare, elbowing Charlotte. "huh?" she looked to Winry, who gave her that "Who the hell are you and why are you in my place?" look. Charlotte leapt to her feet. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm Charlotte." Winry eyed her suspiciously. Edward jumped in "Winry, she has lost her memory, we were put in charge of her." The girl with pin straight hair looked relieved, then shook Charlottes hand. "She looks just like you Winry..." She almost inhaled all the oxygen in the entire room and let out a wail. "You're absolutely right! Oh my gosh! You have the prettiest hair, you HAVE to let me braid it sometime!" Winry enveloped her in a neck-snapping hug, clearly, she was the touchy-feely type. "T-thank you...?" was all she could muster with the remainder of air in her lungs. "Winry!" Alphonse called to her. "She needs air." She gasped again, releasing her grasp on poor, now blue Charlotte. "I'm so sorry!" she wined and hung her head. It was going to be a long brothers sat quietly in the cafeteria, with one blabbering girl beside them, the other just nodding every now and then. "Oh! Charlotte Wintercrest! I heard what happened! How tragic!" Edward groaned at the familiar voice. "Hey Armstrong..." The bald man tore off all his clothes and posed for her. "Maybe this flawless body will jog your memory!" Charlotte sat, awestruck at the naked man. "Uhhh... Did he have to strip...?" Winry sighed and placed an arm under her chin "Its what he does." Charlotte turned back to the man "You know, I remember everything now, thank you!" The group looked incredulously to her. "I knew it would work! Your ever so welcome!" Armstrong knelt and kissed her hand before trotting away. "Nice!" Edward chuckled and high-fived her. Once their hands touched, Charlotte's eyes grew wide. Every memory from Edward was passed on into her mind, like the images she saw at the gate. The iris of her eyes shrunk into the whites of her eyes, a shockwave of energy exchanged between the two. "You've seen it too..." Charlotte spoke softly, then fled the room. They returned to the apartment, but no Charlotte or even a trace of her. "I think I should return home, until you find her. And when you do, call me." "Bye Winry." Al said. Edward shifted around in his seat "We have checked everywhere in Central, asked everyone in Central. What now?" Alphonse stood to his feet, noisily. "We can't let Roy know about this..." Edward snapped his fingers. "Right, let's look through town." "Brother, I'm afraid we won't find her!" Alphonse squeaked. The shorter teen leading their search-and- rescue whipped around and said sternly "I'm not going home until I find her!" as soon as he ended his sentence, it started pouring. Edward trudged forward, passing every shop, looking in every window, and down every alley. Eventually, they came to the edge of town, where "Lacy Park" was located. "Charlotte!" a girl looked up from the fountain in the center of the park, her face tear-stained. Edward ran to her side. "What the hell is the matter with you? You could get sick out here!" Charlotte simply looked up at him, she was a train wreck to put it lightly. "Y-you s-s-s-saw truth too..." Ed's eyes grew wide, he sputtered out random noises. "Dont cry Charlotte. It will all work out. I promise."Alphonse comforted her. She laid her head onto the rim of the fountain and closed her eyes. "She's sleeping Al." Ed removed his coat and covered her, sheltering her from the rain. Alphonse bent down and swept her up in his arms. They made it back to HQ, Charlotte sound asleep in Al's arms. Maes peeked around the corner of his office. "I see you have taken a liking to her." Edward just brushed past him, Alphonse stopped to greet Hughes. "Aww, you even have her your coat. How sweet!" Edward stopped dead in his tracks. "It's not like that! She fell asleep and-" "What will your girlfriend say? Unless now SHE'S your girlfriend. Hmmmmm?" Alphonse sighed "We found her in the park. Sleeping in the rain." Hughes smoothed down her moist hair. "She's a good kid, you had better keep track of her, you know how Roy is." "Al!" His younger brother called. "Coming!" he turned to hughes "Thank you sir, bye now." Edward arrived at her apartment, hos brother a few feet behind. "But, we don't have her key."Al looked down at the sopping wet girl in his arms. "And I don't want to invade her privacy...by...you know, looking for it." Edward sighed and shook his head. "She'll stay with us." He unlocked the door and pulled back the sheets to his own bed. "Put her here, I'll sleep on the couch." Alphonse did as he was told and went to his bed. After five minutes of silence, he spoke. "Brother, " He answered with a simple "Mmm?". "That was a good thing you did today." Edward rolled over and turned down the t.v. "Yea." he folded his hands behind his head "You must really care for her." "Al! I don't even know her!" Al clanked around "But, you gave her your jacket. You don't even give Winry your ja-" "DROP IT AL!" Edward rolled over with a huff "Good night."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 : Coffee Shop ChaosCharlotte awoke to the scent of citrus mint, a red jacket draped over the top of her. Alphonse, who was sitting on the wooden floor, nudged his brother. He currently had his messy blonde head buried in a book. "She's awake." Edward folded down the page and closed his book. His blonde hair was down, touching his mid-back. "Morning. Sleep well?" She shifted around, patting down her frazzled hair. She picked up Edward's jacket and offered it up to him. "This is yours I think." "Keep it, It's no problem. Really." Charlotte threw off the ivory sheets, draping the fresh-smelling coat around her. "Thanks. I didn't have a coat..." her eyes were half-lidded, making her irises appear larger than usual. "I'm gonna go to my room. Thanks you guys." Alphonse waved as she closed the door. "Ed, we have to call Winry." He was busy braiding his straw-colored hair "That's right. Listen, i'll go talk to Charlotte about yesterday. You can call Winry." Al put down his book for the first time that morning, without even marking a page. "Putting Winry on the back burner now?" The older brother looped his belt through each hole around the top of his black jeans. "Al, She's not our biggest worry." he paused to pull on his over-sized boots "The girl next door is. And as much as I hate bowing down to the military, I like to help people in need." he sheathed his hands within his gloves and turned the now-attached door knob. "Right now, Charlotte needs us" Edward turned the knob on Charlottes door. To his surprise, it was open. He invited himself in with a shout of "It's Edward!" the apartment wasn't as clear as his was. Her's had carpeting, while his had wood paneling, theirs was pretty empty since they didn't spend much time there anyway, while her's was decorated with fine vases and candles. "Oh. I'm coming!" Charlotte stepped out or the bathroom, her hair was still wet from her recent shower. It was down now, much like edward's only curly. She wore tan cargo pants and a light blue camisole, the jacket was strewn out across the bed, the hooded side face-up. "Hey." She tried to make small talk, it's a tad awkward to wake up to find a boy who had given you his jacket the day before and is sitting on your bed. "Where's Alphonse?" she scratched her arm and gave him a quizzical look. "H-he's calling Winry." she nodded her head "And I thought we could try to figure out your past over some coffee." Charlotte couldn't help but smile, she couldn't remember the last time she had been alone with a boy. She couldn't remember anything. She walked to the window and drew back the shades "It's raining again." She sighed and closed the curtain. For once, Edward wanted to hug that poor girl, he hadn't felt so bad for a girl before. "That's okay. Just wear the jacket." she just stared at it as she sat down in the bed adjacent to him. "What about you? You'll get sick." he stood up first and put his hands in his pockets. "I'm taking care of you remember? I can always transmute a new one." the dirty-blonde girl kicked the floor with her sneaker-clad foot. "C'mon." she looked up to find a gloved hand, offering it's help. She just looked up at him with dead eyes reading : "Remember...?" "Oh, yeah." he withdrew his hand and got the door for her instead. Hughes, being a blabber-mouth, told the entire staff at Central about Edward and Charlotte, he invited them to help him spy on the duo. "Why not give them their space?" Riza asked, standing attentively by Mustang. "Why should we?" he giggled a childish giggle "They make it so clear!" behind Maes was Havoc, Breda, and Farman. All supporting his idea. "Only," Mustang said said dead serious "If you report it back to me!" Riza sighed and silently acquiesced. The pair of teens walked through the halls of central in awkward silence, glancing at each other once in a great while. "Hey! It's you two again...alone." Hughes leapt from a random corridor waving his hands. They just continued to walk, meeting up with the rest of the "Spy Team" "I think maybe we should go to the cafe outside of Central." Charlotte offered innocently. Edward didn't say anything, just nodded and led her outside of Central. "Lust?" A large man looked up at the lovely woman looming over him. "Yes, Gluttony?" he stuck his fingers in his mouth, drool rolling down his chin. "Who's that girl with the Elric brother?" Lust continued to walk, both figures draped in brown sheets. "Probably his girlfriend. That Winry girl. " He pulled on the bottom of her sheet, head rotated around so his eyes could follow the pair. "No. She's got curly hair. And his coat." Lust smiled to herself "I will let envy know about this mystery girl." She turned to watch Edward get the door for the new girl. "huh." "I'll pay, Roy gave me some money recently for anything I may need.." Charlotte retch in her pocket and searched for a few dollars. Edward grabbed her hand, "I work for the Military, I only have to flash my watch and I'm golden." His hand lingered there for a moment, his face becoming red. Charlotte noticed his embarrassment and tried to levitate the stress of the situation. "Literally." she took the hand that wasn't buried in her pocket and flicked his strand of hair protruding from his head. "...ha...haa" he chuckled nervously, removing his clammy hands from hers and rubbing his neck. "May I help you?"A woman at the counter asked, chomping on her gum at a vicious pace. "Black coffee, and..." he turned to Charlotte "Mocha." the woman yelled the orders back to her co-workers and turned back to Edward and Charlotte. "So.." she blew a bubble and popped it loudly. "The Fullmetal Alchemist has a new flame eh?" Edward scowled at the woman. "It's not like that!" Her eyes danced, like flames licking at the air. Curiosity flooding her violet orbs. She placed the coffee on the counter. He carried both, Charlotte still silent, with no objection to the recent smart aleck comment. "Bye now, Edward." he looked back over his wet shoulder, her voice had drastically changed, now beginning raspy and dry. "Excuse me?" She giggled and waved "Bye!" her voice returning to it's usual friendly tone. Charlotte looked back at the suspicious boy "Whats wrong?" he mumbled, never looking away from the cashier. "nothin'" they wandered toward a table, Charlotte, was bumped by a boy about her height, spilling her coffee down her tank. He gasped. "I'm so sorry!" he picked up the cup . He had deep blue eyes, with blonde hair, which was very well kept. "Look, I-I can buy you a new one..." "That wont be necessary" .Ed walked back to help the coffee-sopped teen, his eyes traveling up and down her torso, the shirt now see-through. The taller boy noticed also, sparking the attention of Charlotte, who pulled her coat closed. He cleared his throat. "I spilled it on you, it's only fair that I buy you a new one." he looked to Edward, the short blonde scowling again. "Is she with you?" "Well...we aren't together, I'm just helping her out." The taller male gave Charlotte a sly smile. "She doesn't look like she needs ANY help at all." Said girl blushed ferociously, crossing her sleeved arms. "She's perfectly fine now. Aside from my clumsiness. Sorry" he took her hand. "Here, let me-" Edward grabbed her free hand "How 'bout not?" and dragged her out of the café, leaving his drink on a random table.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Steamy Miscalculations

"Stupid, arrogant bastard! Who does he think he is?" Edward had drug the slightly taller teen behind him all the way back to Central, he was still angry from the coffee shop incident, though he couldn't really understand why. They had arrived back home, but her wrist was still locked firmly in Edward's grasp. "Would you calm down, he was just trying to be nice. He offered to buy me a new one." Edward whipped his head around, his pony-tail grazing across Charlotte's nose. "That's not the point!" She shrunk back, feeling smaller than Edward appeared. "He spilled your drink then visually violated you!" The cruel irony continued, Edward's voice growing louder and more coarse. Charlotte, on the other hand, was slipping out of her borrowed coat, one sleeve falling around Edward's hand that was still latched onto her wrist. "Look, I'm gonna give you some time to simmer down, I'll be in my room." she wretched her hand away and slung her jacket over her shoulder. "Uh-I-" She placed a hand in his fleshy shoulder. "Bye." she then turned and walked with HIS coat. It was a mix of feelings, he was partially upset that she didn't realize what that stranger did, then again, he couldn't understand this fluttering he felt in the pit of his stomach. Just seeing her made his heart do back flips.

"Okay, I'll let him know. Okay, bye." Alphonse hung up the wall phone in the lobby, turning to see his depressed brother hobbling towards him with both hands buried deep in his pockets. "What happened? Where's Charlotte?" The befuddled teen looked up, his eyes half-lidded and his irises were dusted with a light grey luster. "She's in her room, we sorta...fought." Al grasped his brother by his shoulders, one steel hand resting on his equally steel arm, and the other touching his warm left shoulder. "She's okay right?" His voice echoed throughout the empty armor. "Of course! I wouldn't-" He relaxed and peered down to the tiled floor. Al removing his hands. "Hurt her..." Ed's voice was hollow, his eyes sweeping the floor searching for a new topic of conversation. "What'd Winry say?" "She's visiting in a month, she kinda wasted her train ticket this time around. It will take tine to get money for another." The shorter blonde turned and sulked down the corridor.

The guilt was eating at him. Dissolving his ego brick by brick and dismantling his self esteem. His head was stuffed in a book once again, but he wasn't reading this time. His head was reeling from the recent argument. He scratched his head and lied down his book. "I'll be back."

Charlotte arrived back at her apartment with a heavy, heavy mind. Her sinuses aching from all the rain. "Ugh, boys." She shimmied out of her clothing, tossing them into a nearby hamper. "Maybe a shower will relax me."

Edward didn't bother knocking, the door was wide open, though he clung to it. "Charlotte?" He called out, his uneasy voice bouncing off the blue walls. He wandered aimlessly through the apartment, Charlotte was nowhere to be found. The only remnants of her was the television. Being the only source of light in the whole room, so he was drawn to it quickly. It flickered some show about a doctor hobbling around on a cane. "What the-" his ears picked up a voice, he quickly switched off the t.v. A light appeared in the screen, reflecting from the bathroom directly behind him. It was Charlotte, wrapped loosely in a white towel with her blonde tresses cascading down her back, glimmering with water. She gazed at herself in the mirror, moving the towel further down on her chest. There, smack dab in the center, was a bright red transmutation circle. It glowed purple, almost like a bruise. Edward was glued to to the tv, and the bigger the gap between the towel and her body, created a deeper crimson that spread across his cheeks. "What is this?" She touched it with one hand, tracing the outer edge of the circle. It wasn't drawn on like a tattoo, it was engraved into her skin. Suddenly, a beam of light sprang out from the gash in her skin, it encircled her, creating a coil-like formation around her body. One by one, her feet were picked up by the light, her towel falling down around her toes. Ed tried to turn away, but was transfixed by the light that consumed Charlotte. She involuntary opened her mouth, the light disappearing into it, her feet then meeting the ground. Edward took this as a sign to make a B-line for the door. He was just as quiet leaving as he was arriving.

Edward practically bounded into his apartment, knocking over everything in his wake. To his dismay, Alphonse was still in the apartment. He was sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through a book he had read a thousand times before. Alphonse had noticed Edward's chest heaving heavily, his face glowing red. "Brother!" Alphonse squealed as he ran to his side. "What's wrong?" Ed shuffled his was to the sofa, Alphonse in tow with him. "I-I went to apologize...a-and I saw something I shouldnt've." Alphonse's eyes widened to the farthest extent of his helmet. "Brother! You need to be more careful!" Edward threw his head into his hands, almost collapsing onto the couch. "I know! I didn't mean to. But, she has this thing..." He pointed a finger to the middle of Al's "chest", resting his head on one shaking arm. "Here. It's a transmutation circle.- a human one." Alphonse shook his older brother, forcing him to look up at him. "She had this aura around her. I dont understand it." "Is she a homunculus?" Asked a dumbfounded suit of armor. "I dunno Al, I just don't know."  
>Central's "Spies" were buzzing about the pairing of Edward and Charlotte, especially since they knew Winry would be visiting soon. They were extremely in-tune with their entire situation, they even saw Edward slip into Charlotte's room. They decided to confront him about it, their suspicion at it's pique. Edward was sitting with his brother in the cafeteria, not really paying attention to each other's presence. The group consisting of Hughes, Havoc, Breda and Falman approached the auto-mail clad blonde. "Soooo..." Havoc walked cautiously around Edward, Hughes getting a notepad ready. "What were you doing in Charlotte's room at-" He glanced over at Hughes, who flipped through his booklet. "7:47" Havoc turned to Ed and gave him a quizzical look. Then he realized what they meant, they had been watching them, for almost a month. "It was last night." Breda scratched his orange hair. "I don't have to report to you." He blushed lightly, trying to cover it up by shuffling deeper into his coat. "Well...I haven't seen Charlotte around today ...maybe she got mad because you're a two-timer." Offered Jean thoughtlessly. Edward immediately spat his soda all over his tray of food. "What'dya mean by that?" He rose to his feet with a crimson face; his voice growing loud and hoarse. "Well Winry's coming soon right? And she IS your girlfriend..." Breda said "Aaaaaand your with Charlotte too. So, it kinda solves itself." Al shook his head in his brother's defense. "It's not like that. Winry's his mechanic." Edward squirmed around and nodded his head "Y-y-yeah, and Charlotte just needs looking after." His head rotated around to Hughes, watching him scribble down notes, mumbling some inaudible speech. "Where has Charlotte been anyway?" Said Foreman. Ed scratched his messy head, "I haven't apologized yet..." he said to himself under his breath. "Apologized? For what?" Havoc pressed once again. "I don't have to explain myself to you!" He left the cafeteria, Alphonse staying behind to answer their questions. His tray still lied on the table. His food sprayed with soda.<p>

Edward's eyes were glued to the floor, he didn't know where he was heading, but he continued to walk at a brisk pace, his coat trailing behind him. Little did he know, another person was in the hallway with him, walking directly toward him. Though it was unknown to both teens. Edward suddenly was flung onto the floor; landing on his back. "Watch it will -" In the ground across from him was Charlotte, looking slightly more mature. Her hair was done up in a clip, small curls slipping down the sides of her face. Her thighs were sheathed in a white scallop miniskirt, and a midnight blue strapless top.  
>"Edward? Is that you?" She scurried around the floor, papers fluttering around the hall. "Uh" He sat forward and regained his composure. "I'm so sorry." she picked up her papers, some still lying around the hall. Edward collected the remaining papers in a stack in the fold of his arm. They appeared to be printed off papers about alchemy, unreadable scribbles littering every page. Some sentences were underlined in red pen about a million times. Charlotte held out her hand to help Edward to his feet. "Here." he looked up at her, holding the stack of papers out, opposing her helping hand. "Oh, thank you." She took the papers as Edward stood up on his own. "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." The spy team had finished questioning Alphonse and turned the corner to witness the pair. "Don't apologize, I deserve it for flipping out yesterday." He threw his hands in his pockets awkwardly. It's a little difficult to converse with the girl who you saw naked the night before. Her top covered only half of the transmutation circle, it was still red. It looked almost like a welt on her chest. "Don't worry about it." she shuffled her papers around so that they would cover her chest. "Oh, Mustang called me earlier,he needs us to head over to a place called...Xing I think it was." Ed slumped forward. "Ugh. Not Xing." Charlotte started walking in the opposite direction of Edward, though he turned and followed her. "What's wrong with Xing? I've never heard of it." "Believe me, you'll find out.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: A New Found Love Interest

Everything was hazy, like drifting through a fog. She looked down to find her feet buried ankle-deep in marky water. "What?-" Charlotte asked the air around her, as if an answer would appear to her in that instance. A clicking sound echoed around her, she could actually feel the vibrations from the noise pass through her. She sucked in as much air as her lungs would hold, then came the gunshot. The reflection was so massive she fell over backward, completely winded. The water slashed up into her face, smelling more like cologne than anything else. He sound of a bullet shell hitting the ground gave her chills, her skin prickling up at the clinking noise of it. A gun was cocked, Charlotte now being sucked into the water below. She struggled in a futile attempt to free herself. A boy about her age stepped out of the fog, a pistol in his unstable hand. His face was covered by his light hair. She recognized the boy, it was the guy from the coffee shop that Edward was so mad about. "Bye." He pulled the trigger, shooting her in her chest. She let out a caterwaul that tore though the silence.

"Charlotte?" Edward grabbed her shoulders as her eyes flipped wide open. It was then she realized that she had been sleeping, and the scream she let out was real. "Are you alright?" Gold eyes stared back into her emerald ones, glassy from the recent slumber. Her hands rubbed her eyes as she mumbled: "Yea...yea." Her eyes moved lazily around, finding that they had already boarded the train to Xing. Edward sat next to her with Alphonse sitting directly across. "Are you sure?" Al asked, his voice laced with worry. "Yes. Just a nightmare." she rubbed her arms that shook ferociously, drawing Edward's attention. "Cold?" Her eyes were dead. "Huh?" she looked down at her arms. "Oh, no. I'm fine, just a little shaken up that's all." He simply nodded and turned to the window, watching the hills roll by.  
>They sat awkwardly together, Edward never turning away from his train window, while Alphonse and Charlotte sat in the silence.<p>

Eventually the train heaved to a halt, the few passengers scrambling for their luggage, while the threesome stayed put. "This is crazy, is it always like this?" Ed stood up, baggage in hand. "Yeah, but wait. It's gets worse." Charlotte got off first, followed by Al then Ed. "Edward! Your back!" A teenager ran full force at Edward, embracing him passionately. He wore his dark hair in a low pony tail, a yellow coat with flames on the cuffs adorned his torso. "Ling! Get off!" Ed dropped his suitcase and struggled with both arms trying to pry him off. "I'm so happy you're here!" Cried Ling, despite Edward's attempts to wriggle free. "There was nobody to pay for my meals! Oh! I-" He turned to Charlotte and smiled, dropping Edward instantly. "Who is this?" Ling grasped her hand and knelt down. "What is such a lovely lady doing with the likes of Edward Elric?" He gently kissed her hand and wriggled his brow. "...haha...hahaha..." She blushed lightly and put her free hand on her cheek. "Is your name as pretty as your face?" "I'm Charlotte..." Ling stood up, taking both her hands in his. "Ah, so it is." He cupped her chin, smiling intensely. Edward stepped in, with a scowl on his face. "What are we here for now Ling?" He said, slightly annoyed. Ling continued to grasp her hand as he spoke. "Oh, thats right. There's a mass murder...or something along those lines." Ling turned back to the blushing blonde, smoothing her hair. "Uh...uuuuh" She babbled incoherently. "Alphonse!" A small girl who looked like she was maybe eleven, ran up and leapt on Alphonse, clinging to his apron. "Hi May, how have you been?" He patted her hair like she was his child. "I've been so lonely Alphonse!" May's eyes floated around to the new blonde girl that Ling was glued to. "Why does that skanky girl look different?" Charlotte craned her neck around her adoring fan to find a small girl shooting her a dirty stare. "Excuse me?" May's eyes widened. "That's not her, who is this?" Alphonse spoke up for the confused teen. "This is Charlotte. She's new." May cocked a brow and wandered around Charlotte, examining her piece by piece. "You're alright Charlotte." Edward briskly strode over to Charlotte and took her hand, never stopping. "Let's just get to our hotel room."

The second that Edward whipped the door to their room open, Charlotte had sprung onto the bed and cuddled up with a pillow. "Ugh, man. I'm exhausted. No more train rides." Ling jumped into the bed, laying beside her. "Well...what to do now?" Her irises were dissolved into the whites of her eyes as she sprang out of the bed. "LING! Why are you still here?" Edward bellowed. Ling sat up and crossed his legs. "I figured I could help you...you know with your situation." Edward pointed to the door with his auto-mail arm. "Out!" Ling leapt off the bed and took Charlotte in his arms. "Farewell for now my beautiful Charlotte. I'm sure I will see you soon." He leaned in to kiss Charlotte, she turned her head away, not really enjoying the embrace. The blood in Edward's face began to boil and he grabbed Ling's collar. "Let's go lover-boy!" He drug Ling through the hotel while he dug his heels into the flooring. "Bye my love!" He flailed his arms in her direction as Edward slammed the door and locked the deadbolt.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: "More Than A Friend"

It was her first night in that hotel room, and it was raining. It seemed like every time something in her life changed, it would rain. "Damn." Charlotte's bed was located a few feet away from the window, the curtains pulled back to reveal the flashes of lightning and streams of water cascading down it. Edward was sound asleep in his bed adjacent to her own, his arms were thrown over his head with the sheets pulled down to expose his bare chest, she watched it slowly rise and fall at a steady pace. His hair was released from the grip of a rubber band and his bangs resting on his chisel face. He looked so blissful in his state of slumber, he's an angry teen and he has the right to be pissed off at god constantly. Though it was so odd to see him so at peace with himself, with the world. Her eyes were torn from his perfectly toned body by a sniffle, one from a little boy. Charlotte rolled over to face the corner of the room. There sat Alphonse, shaking and shuddering each time lightning lit up the sky and the room they slept in. "Al? Are you okay?" Alphonse jumped at he sound of her voice and made an extreme ruckus by shaking his armor involuntary. "Mmm-mm." Al murmured pathetically, he was still a child after all, and now she felt like his mother. Like it was her obligation to nurture and care for him like he was her own. "Are you afraid of thunderstorms Alphonse?" In place of a rebuttal, he simply nodded his head with a squeak. Charlotte squinted though the darkness, then wadded up her sheets and pillows and made her way to Al; ambling around aimlessly in the dark environment. "Here..." Charlotte positioned her pillow on Al's crossed legs, then lied down her sheet, then crawled into the cold, steel lap of the younger boy. "Better?" He embraced her in an enamoring hug, answering a weak :"Yes." She smiled and returned the favor. "Charlotte? Can I tell you something?" His small, feminine voice creaked with uncertainty. Charlotte leaned deeper into his arms. Yes. Anything." She had just closed her eyes when he dropped the bomb: "I think Ed likes you." Her words didn't seem to want to leave her mouth, instead, they bounced off the walls of her cheeks and came out in a sort of inaudible response. "Dont be silly Al, he's just a friend." she nodded slyly to herself, as if she was trying to convince herself of her own words. "I don't think so..." Alphonse spoke quietly to himself, Charlotte already passed out in his arms. She was comforting even if he didn't have a body. It was her aura that made her appear so kind, so motherly.

The dawn was still as dark as night, fog creeping lazily across the window, mist lingering upon them. Edward snored lightly in his slumber as Alphonse held Charlotte in his steel arms. She wasn't the only one awake at the time, she didn't know it. Ed, who was thought to be sleeping, sat forward and stretched his arms out. He stood to expose his blue knee-length boxers, digging through his suit case for his clothes. Edward was a morning person apparently, Charlotte knew she couldn't hey right up and get dressed. In order for her to get dressed, she needs to lounge for about an hour. He never once flipped on a light, though what little light existed in the room reflected off of his straw blonde hair, outlining him against the pitch black background. He pulled on his usual attire then retired to his bed, turning his head to Alphonse. "Gah!" Edward grabbed his chest and laughed sheepishly. "You startled me." The blonde girl wrapped her blanket around herself and sat in the bed opposite Edward. "Alphonse is afraid of thunderstorms..." He scratched his messy head. "Yea. He's a child at heart." He continued to mess with his hair for about five minutes before Charlotte asked: "Do you want help?" she motioned to his hair. "Uh- sure. Thanks" She sat behind him, her legs crossed loosely in her pajama pants and his hair being delicately intertwined together. "There, all done." To Edward too, she was acting like it was her job to care for the brothers, when it was the exact opposite. Nevertheless, they sat in the silence. It was abruptly interrupted by Charlotte, "Alphonse told me something last night. I want to know if it's true." Edward was distracted by his braid, he slung it over his shoulder and tightened the band. "Ask away." She was choked up again, but the words spilled out eagerer than previously. "He said y-y-you-" Charlotte swallowed hard and tried her best to made eye contact with him, to assure honesty. "That you h-had f-" now she was blushing and babbling like a moron. "feelings for me." There. She got half of it out. "Like, m-more than a friend..." She gripped her bedsheets with embarrassment, awaiting Edward's answer. She tilted her head up just as he opened his mouth. "I-"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 : A Familiar Face

"I-" Edward's face flushed as a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead. "Hey! Charlotte!" The door swung open, there stood a smiling Ling, his arms raised over his head. "Oh how I've missed you!" He bolted to the bed where the blushing Charlotte sat. She had become rigid as he launched himself at her. "Eight hours is far too long to go without seeing you!" He said in a sing-song voice. Edward just watched, relieved that he didn't have to answer any further questions that Charlotte had been sputtering out. He witnessed Ling hug her and practically melt into his shoes for her, is that they way HE himself was supposed to feel? She was always by his side. But blocking the doorway between him and Charlotte was Winry. "Erm, wow. Good morning Ling..." Charlotte tried desperately to pry his arms away from her waist, but it was pointless. He was much stronger. The phone on the nightstand rang, Edward picked up. "It's the Colonel. There has been another murder in town, we will be there shortly with reinforcements." He sandwiched the phone between his neck and shoulder as he dug into his pocket to search for his watch. It read: "7:28" "Get down there and figure out what's going on." He sighed an annoyed sigh as he hung up the phone. "LING!" He immediately stopped attempting to hug Charlotte and glared at Edward. "We are going to town to investigate, get OFF her!" Ed lurched forward and ripped Charlotte out of Ling's loving arms. This awoke the suit of armor sitting in the corner, rubbing it's head it said: "What the-?" Edward was still holding Charlotte in his arms, her hands around his neck while Ling stared up at them with his arms outstretched. "Mornin' Al."

"What the hell is with all this rain?" Charlotte said bitterly as she strode beside Edward, Ling in tow. "Dunno." They came to a crowd of people, police tape bordering the inside of the rabble. Edward and his team pushed their way through all the by-standers with simple "I'm sorry", "Excuse me" and "Move it or lose it pal." 's." The scene was tragic, a mother and daughter both slaughtered without even the slightest of mercy. Suddenly, Charlotte was grabbed by the collar of her borrowed jacket. "This is the girl! She did it!" The group whizzed around to find her hanging only by her coat sleeves. " Let her go! She's with me!" The crowd began to turn to the person next to them and babble incoherently. "The Fullmetal Alchemist has already captured the mass murderer!" the crowd cheered and stunned a blonde girl. "Wait." A fellow member of the mob came forth and examined the girl more thorough. "No! The murderer had glowing red eyes, she's got green." The man released her and dusted her off as Edward ran to her side. "Sorry miss, you looked just like her." A door slammed and the sea of people parted to let the Colonel pass. "Mind explaining this?" Charlotte asked with a slight tinge of suspicion. Mustang pulled his hat down further onto his head. "The killer only appears to go after girls, it's an odd thing." Riza stepped forth and pushed people back with the threat of her pistol. "Time to go home everybody, the Military will handle this." Her stern voice bellowed, bouncing off the stone walls surrounding them. "There have been over twenty cases; each one the same. Every limb cut off and the corpse sucked dry of blood." Mustang had leaned up against the wall adjacent to him. "And there are no leads."

" Edward?" Came Ling's tiny voice as they sorted through newspaper clippings in the library. "What? I'm kinda busy." Said Ed, as he sifted the stack of papers to the side of his desk. "Would you care if I dated Charlotte?" Edward sat for a moment, not really comprehending what was just said. Then bellowed: "WHAT?" Sending the neat stack of papers fluttering to the ground and earning a scold from the librarian. "Yea. I mean, she's just your friend right? No biggie." He shook his fist. "No...biggie...?" He said, seething through gritted teeth. "Hey guys, remember? Working." Alphonse scolded the two boys and pointed to the papers littering the carpeted floor. They had been there for hours, researching for any sort of clue. since this had been going on for almost a month, there was plenty of heavy articles about the family and their background. "Yea. Work Ling!"

The group had left him all alone, he had insured that they get back to the hotel to supply their energy for the next morning. Edward's head had fallen upon a messy nest of flyers, the time now almost midnight. "Sir, the library is now closed. I'm asking you to leave." An elderly woman tapped his shoulder. He sat up and pulled all of his paper into a pile. "Can I leave these here with you?" He asked, his eye lids heavy . "Certainly." she took the papers and placed them behind her desk, Edward taking off. Once outside, Ed began walking slowly toward the glowing hotel in the distance. A loud bang startled him and he ran to the nearby alley where the sound emanated. His own gold eyes were greeted with a pair of glowing ruby ones. "So you're who I've been hearing about. You have a twisted notion of fair play, pal. And it's beginning to piss me off." The glowing form laughed and came into the light. "Is that so?" He recognized that voice, that face. The person before him was none other than Charlotte. Though she looked disheveled, her usually bouncy hair was unusually dark and heavy, while she wore nothing but Edward's coat. Her eyes weren't visible through all of the hair lingering in her face, though the glow shone out from beneath her bangs. "What are you? Why are you doing this?" The "thing" threw its head back and cackled manically. "I am the second half of your love, Charlotte." Her was flustered for a moment but kept his concentration. "She's the human part, I'm the immortal. She's got the Philosopher stone imbedded within her though." She paused for a moment and smiled "And you know in order for one to work you must use raw materials." Her smile grew wider until it practically touched her ears. "Humans. Once the stone's power is full, we will be transmuted as one. And she will have no memory of you, and you will forget her." the figure strode to Edward, Ed transmuting his automail into a blade for protection. She dropped the cloak and was stark naked. She tilted his chin up and wrapped her leg around his. His face burned with intensity; though she continued to smile. "This is what you want Edward." Her lips moved in on his like a predator on it's prey. "Me." then she faded away, like a flame being blown out. All that was left was the red cloak, and a flustered teen.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: An Unsung Hero

Charlotte woke up in a cold sweat, she had that dream again. The dream where she was shot, by a blonde boy who looked eerily like Edward. It seemed like death was surrounding her, she died in real life, her dreams, and now a serial killer who could be her twin is on the loose. Xing was not a great place for her right now. It was around four in the morning when she woke up, Edward had crashed at the small table in the corner of the room, while Ling had fallen asleep, legs crossed next to her bed. She saw no reason to stay in the room, so she slipped on her shoes and exited the hotel room silently.

"Lust." The beautiful woman leaned on the guard rail of an abandoned building. "Yes Gluttony?" came her rich voice. "I smell the blonde girl. She's near." The obese man let drool run down his large chin. "You can't eat her just yet. Since she's got a philosopher's stone buried in her chest, she will be an important asset." The dark haired woman who resembled Charlotte in more ways than one, patted Gluttony on the head with her gloved hand. "Let Envy know about her."

Charlotte passed through the town, the streetlights spilling illumination onto the pavement below. That was the only source of light besides the full moon. "Xing's a dead place." Paper littered the streets, mostly napkins and wrappers. They didn't take very good care of the town at night. Charlotte passed a store with a banner scrolled across it: "General Store". She stared at her reflection in the dark glass. Did she really like what she saw? The green-eyed teen sighed and pulled Edward's jacket tighter around her small form. "It's dangerous out here." A raspy voice called to her, she looked back up into the glass to find a face staring back at her. "You could be kidnapped." It smiled devilishly and launched its body at her with full force. Charlotte turned and ducked just in time for the mysterious person to send their fist flying through the shop window. "Oo. Your fast. But I'm faster." The sounded as if they had just gargled gravel, their voice so gruff and hoarse. Charlotte had managed to run about half way down the stretch of road before being cut off by the person pursuing her. "Leave me alone!" she caterwauled as she slugged him right in the chin, forcing his head upward. "Why so violent Charlotte?" He stepped into the street light that illuminated his face. It had bizarre hair, mossy green and long spikes protruding from his head. Violet eyes stared back at her. "I just want to get a better look at your symbol there." Envy crept toward Charlotte, she turned and ran once more, loosing her shoes in the process of bolting back toward the Hotel. "You like run huh? Well it just so happens I like chasing." Envy leapt up into the tops of buildings, antagonizing Charlotte by leaping across the street, building to building as she ran.  
>After about a two minute barefoot sprint, she skidded to a stop when Envy jumped right in front of her. "End of the line kiddo." He smiled evilly. Charlotte slammed her eyelids closed and clamped them tighter; she didn't know what kind of pain she was going to endure.<p>

"Back off the girl." Said a casual voice. She opened her eyes and followed a shadow that was cast at her feet to a blonde boy, cloaked in a blue coat much like her own. " Ha! Who do you think you are?" The blonde boy cracked his knuckles and chuckled. "It won't matter where I'm sending you!" He clapped his hands and created a spark, sending the road in front of him up into the air and made a rolling hill, sending Envy airborne. He did a flip and came down onto his feet safely. "An alchemist. Heh." Envy spat. The mystery boy clapped his hands once again and from the torn up concrete rose a large scythe blade. "I'm gonna tell you one more time." He swung the large blade at Envy, slicing him across the abdomen. "LEAVE HER ALONE!" The blade flew back at the boy, who caught it effortlessly with one arm. The blade was outrageously large, about as long as he was tall. "You bastard!" The spiky-haired homunculus roared as he covered his deep gash. Envy turned and sprinted away from the scene of the would-be kidnapping. "I'm not finished with you yet!" With that, the blade he held lit up with an electric charge as he leaned back and threw it with every ounce of strength he had. Envy leapt just fast enough to avoid the blade, taking off into the shadows of the night. He blade instead returned to the boy, just as a boomerang would. He caught it and transmuted it back into the concrete, returning it just as it was found. "You alright?" He asked Charlotte; as she stood in awe of him, shaking in her pajama shorts and green tank top the matched with her eyes. "I...I think so." She looked at the ground and played with her hands. "I don't know how to thank you." He walked to her and stuck out his hand. "Don't need to. The name's Mason Elric." Her eyes shot up to him faster than her head could follow. "Elric? I know two Elrics." He smiled coyly, his gold eyes lighting up. "You've met my siblings." She still couldn't see him very well through the dawn of morning, as far as she knew he was dressed in the same attire as Edward, besides the blue coat. He was blonde, with gold eyes, his hair short and spiked in the front. Finally, after her observations, he stepped into the light. "You're- from m-m-my dreams-s..." Mason cocked a brow and laughed lightly. "I've been told that I'm pretty good looking but this is absurd." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Not what I meant." Mason stopped his giggle fest and smiled. "I'll take the compliment anyway." Charlotte suddenly collapsed to the pavement and skidded her knees, making them bleed. "Ugh, my feet." she looked down to find that they too, like her knees, were scuffed up and bleeding from her previous barefoot chase. Mason bent down to examine her feet. "Yea, you won't be able to walk on these until they heal." He swept her up in his arms and continued down the road. "Let's get you home. Where do ya live?"

"What the hell were you doing out here? "Mason looked down at her. He was strong for his age, and his height. "I could ask you the same thing." She came back with that sly remark. "Yea, but the men aren't being targeted. Young girls like you are." She turned back to watch the sun rise, her arms looped around his neck. "You know, I saved your life, and you haven't told me your name." She pointed her finger down a street and he turned. "Charlotte Wintercrest." Mason walked up the steps to a large hotel and kicked in the door. The group consisting of Ed, Al, Ling and May were bolting for the door when they stopped in awe of the duo. "There you are!" Mason gently let Charlotte down, her feet touching the floor softly. Edward was the first to react to her. He wrapped his arms around her. "I thought I lost you..." His face was touching her's, cheek to cheek. He had gotten slightly taller, he was now about the same height as her. She could have sworn she felt a cool tear trickle down his face.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Confrontation

"Why did you leave!" Edward sat at the side of Charlotte, she was all curled up with a book in her hands; a sheet strewn across her petite form. "I couldn't sleep Ed, I'm sorry." She gave him a pouted lip and her eyes grew wet. Ed leapt from his chair and waved his arms. "No! Don't cry! I'm sorry for asking, I was just worried " Mason sat across from Edward, Ling perched on the heater while May was curled up in Al's lap. "You have a great way with the ladies Ed." Edward growled and tossed a nearby book at Mason, which he easily dodged. "Shut up! It's not like that!" Ling laughed half-heartedly. "It sure did earlier." May leapt up with Xiao-May cuddled up in her arms. "Here." She offered up her tiny Panda to her. "Aw. Thanks May." It crawled up into her arms and suckled on her finger. "You're one to talk! You're all over her!" Ling sat, amused at his own witty banter. "Jealous?" He grinned the biggest grin possible as Edward threw a large book and hit him square between the eyes. "SHUT UP! I DON'T LIKE HER!" Charlotte's head hung, just a little bit.

"More dead bodies." Roy said as he watched them cover the bodies with a tarp. Mason took the place of Edward, as he had stayed back in the hotel to keep Charlotte company, her wounds were deep, she had been cut slightly by Envy, right through her transmutation circle. "So you're Mason. Edward never mentioned he had a brother other than Alphonse." Mason bent down and peeked under the tarp with a grim look on his face. "Yea well, he's not the kind of person who would hang around with me." May hid behind Al's armor, shaking in her tiny boots. "Alphonse, what if I'm next?" Al Bent down and picked up the poor shaking girl. "There's no way I will let that happen May, I assure you you will be fine." Roy turned to 1st Lieutenant Riza, Smiling coyly. "Maybe you need a bit of protecting, Hawkeye. I can offer that care." Riza placed a pistol upon his temple and said without even looking at him "Oh Colonel, I'm thankful for your concern, buy I'm sure I can take care of myself." Then she cocked it, sliding s bullet into the chamber with a click. "What do you think?" Roy cleared his throat as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. "Well, Mason I want you to get your brother and his girlfriend." The rest of the group burst out laughing at the top of their lungs. "That's not his girlfriend!" Ling put up two of his fingers and made a flexing motion. "Supposedly! Haha!"

"Ed!" Ling kicked in the door to their hotel room. "Shhhh! Quiet!" Edward was lying in his bed, the tv turned down to a quiet volume, Charlotte rolled over to face the window, sleeping. "Ah. Sorry." Ling whispered, closing the door with a silent click. "Roy sent us to get you two." Edward motioned to the slumbering form of Charlotte. "We can't take her with us. I'm not waking her up." And with that they left Charlotte all to herself.

A loud crash woke up the slumbering blonde, she as rolled over to face the window. She rubbed her glassy eyes and kicked off the covers, exposing her bandaged feet and knees. Charlotte glanced over to the bed next to her, finding it empty. "He left." She leaned back in her bed, suddenly having a feeling that she wasn't alone. She turned back to tue window, finding it smashed to pieces. "What the-" Charlotte shuffled out of bed quickly, scrambling for the phone. "Don't be so frantic, you don't want to hurt us even more do you?" Charlotte stopped pressing buttons once she heard the raspy voice. The "Thing" was sitting on her bed, bony legs dangling off the edge. It was cloaked in Edward's Flammel jacket  
>. It looked like a disheveled version of herself, it's ribs stuck out terribly, it's fingers were gangly and her whole face was sunk in. The hair was a dishwater blonde, laying flat to it's scalp. It had no features, though it was unclothed, and it's eyes glowed an unearthly crimson. "Remember the first time you touched..." It flew at her at a break-neck pace, touching her transmutation circle. "This?" He simple touch of her fingers sent a scalding sensation throughout her entire body. "That's what created me!" Her body slowly broke down into a mist, Charlotte's body engulfing the fingers that touched the circle. "For every person I killed, you become stronger. Philosopher stones require raw materials. Humans." As it spoke, it was slowly being broken down and consumed by Charlotte, making her heart race. "Your purpose shall be fulfilled soon enough." It was now up to her shoulder, dissolving her molecule by molecule. Then suddenly, the rest of her body was pulled into the void of Charlotte, making her cry out in pain.<p>

"You heard that right?" Edward said as he spun around on his heels. The group was headed back to check on Charlotte when they heard the vicious caterwaul. "Yea, I heard it." Said mason, as he took off running toward the hotel. They all burst in the door, taking in the horrible scene before them. The window, broken wide open, a phone tossed onI the floor, sheets and pillows wrapped up in a large pile, and a shaking Charlotte, blood dripping out from beneath her pajamas. "What the hell! Charlotte!" Edward cried as he ran to her side. "Ling! Get some sheets!" Edward folded her up in white sheet, blood leaking through and staining the a brown color. "A-Alphonse! Carry her!" She watched as Alphonse picked her up, though her vision was blurry from major blood loss, she could vaguely make out the basic shapes and colors. Then suddenly, everything went black.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: A Grey Anatomy

She opened her eyes, finding herself alone once again, though this time everything was bright, the sheets she lied in were clean, and silence filled the entire room, save for the random beeping the machines she was hooked up to made while they pumped blood back into her system. She attempted to move around and try to roll over, but a stinging sensation on her back prevented her from doing so. "What even happened?" Charlotte folded her hands in her lap, glancing over to the tray table next to her hospital bed. She was still a bit dizzy from her recent blood loss, but she could easily tell that there was an outrageously large bouquet of flowers sitting upon it. "I bet anything it's from Ling." Charlotte smiled lightly to herself, looking tired and worn. "That figures."

"Do you think she's alright?" Asked May, clutching her tiny panda until it was on the brink of suffocation. "I hope so, they said she was cut up pretty bad." Mason sat back in the waiting room chair, crossing his legs with his jacket folded around his arm, hooded side up. "I wonder if she likes my flowers..." said Ling. The group all stopped and stared at him, Edward smacking him in the back of the head. "THAT'S THE LEAST OF OUR WORRIES!" The dark-hared boy sat forward and covered his head. "Why did you hit me with your automail?" Ed sighed a short sigh as a nurse walked into the room. "Are you the Elric group?" Ed jumped to his feet. "Yea, any news?" The nurse flipped though her clipboard full of papers. "She lost a lot of blood from a cut on her back." She put a finger on her chin. "I don't know how to describe- " She suddenly jumped and pointed to Mason's jacket. "That! That's what's engraved into her back." Alphonse turned to Edward with a grave look plastered on his face. "We need to see her immediately." She shook her head. "I can't let all of you at the same time-" Ling leapt up and pointed his finger into the nurse's befuddled face. "I am the prince of Xing, and you will allow us to enter that room together!" He said sternly.  
>She held up her clipboard in defense. "I'm sorry, I-I can only allow-" she held up one finger. "One." Mason patted ling on the back in pity. "You tried man."<p>

After all that, Edward was the one to end up visiting, he had volunteered himself. Charlotte was sitting with the tv on in the dark room. "Ed?" The braid-bound boy peeked around the white door. "Hey." He said, pulling a chair up to her bed. "Look, I'm sorry." He said abruptly, Charlotte looking over to him in confusion. "I left you all by yourself, I could have been there to help you. " She froze, looking a his pitiful figure, his head was bowed to look at his hands. "It's not your-" "YES IT IS!" He bellowed as he brought his head up to stare her down. Her features softened momentarily, then she just turned to her lap. "That thing, it looked like me." Ed's head shot back up. "It touched this." She pointed to her chest. "And it... disappeared into something about "Raw materials."" the young alchemist's suspicions were aroused. "Just when I think everything Is going fine. I always manage to fuck things up..." It was then that Charlotte shocked him by encasing his automail hand in hers. Edward looked up to see a glistening stream of water run down her cheek. " I brought this upon myself by leaving that night, you can't always save me, Ed. I have to learn my lesson." She intertwined her fingers around his own steel ones. "Just as you did." His eyes sparkled with wetness , just as the door was flung open. 'Damn it," Ed thought to himself. 'They always gotta ruin it.' Ling bounced over to the bed, sitting on the edge. "Hey Char, how ya- woah..." His eyes were focused on their hands. "Somebody's been busy." Mason said as he peered around Ling's shoulder. "Awww! How sweet! I like her better than that Winry girl." Said May, tugging on Al's apron. Edward's face immediately flushed and he released her hand quickly. "I-I-it's not w-what you guys think!" Mason pointed to Edward's steel prosthetic. "Seeing is believing, and I know I just saw THAT." Edward threw his bottom lip out into a pout. "Yea, well what's important now is the Flammel on her back." Alphonse chimed in : "It's the mark of sin."

The group returned to their hotel in awkward silence, Edward being the most uncomfortable. "Hey you guys," Alphonse stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. the group turned to him. "The room is totally destroyed." Their shoulders slumped collectively. "Oh yeah." Ling scratched his head. "And Charlotte's being discharged tomorrow." Ed stopped to kick a rock, watching roll around on the concrete. "Might as well get a ticket back to Central. The killer has been caught." Mason turned to him with an unbelieving look on his face. "How do you know that?" Ed sighed, "Let's find a place to stay first."

Paninna opened the door to her tiny home. "Hey guys. What's up?" Ed scratched his braided hair and motioned to his group of nomads. "Do you think we could stay with you? Just for the night." She nodded with a bright smile, opening the door for the whole pack.  
>"Just sleep where ever." Paninna said as she showered them with pillows and sheets. "Night guys." She then turned and returned to her room. "Ed. Now would be a good time to explain."<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Broken Promises In The Promised Land

"Mamma! Mamma!" Cried a little girl, her hair was a light brassy color, she wore a small blue dress. She ran to her mother and tugged on her white blouse. "Sissy, sissy's-" She sniffles as tears streamed from her confused eyes. "Something's wrong with, with sissy!" the mother wrung her hands in a dish cloth and frantically ran out the door of their small home. "Trinity, whats wrong with Charlotte?" They walked down the stone path to their yard, the mother stopping at the edge of the woods. "Trinity, Charlotte and her boyfriend just took a walk in the woods, I'm sure she's-" The girl named Trinity ran into a thick part of the woods, screaming and sobbing all the way. "NO MAMMA!" Her mother followed her 8-year old child into the woods. "Trinity! Trinity honey come back!" She nearly tripped on a rock when she came across the body, her daughter was sprawled out in a murky pond, blood seeping from her now dead body. "CHARLOTTE!" He mother wailed as she held her daughter in her arms, Trinity still sobbing madly nearby.

"Hey, babe. I'm here to take you home." Charlotte rolled away from the voice that was trying to call out to her. "Come on babe, we're leaving now." Said the voice, more desperate now. "I'm getting up, Ed." She kicked off her covers and shuffled out of bed, stretching her arms out and pulling up her gown by accident. "When did you start calling me "Babe" anyway?" She turned to face Edward, he was standing at the window, his arms crossed. "Well, I always had a 'thing' for you..." Charlotte's eyes flashed with concern as the blood in her face practically boiled. "What's the matter with you Ed? You're acting strange today. And why do you look taller?" Charlotte pulled on her coat, her bare feet slapping the tiled floor as she strode to the door. "Aren't you coming?" He sighed and walked to the door, taking her hand. She looked down at his sudden movement and struggled with the awkward moment. "C'mon."

Once outside, Charlotte released his hand and scowled at him. "What's up with you?" He smiled wickedly and cupped her chin, he was slightly taller than her. "What do you mean! The first Tim I lied eyes on you, I was infatuated with you. Smitten even. So..." He put a leg between her's, preventing her escape. His face suddenly began to dismantle itself, like bricks falling apart. "I must have you for my own." Who she though was Edward suddenly became the boy who had chased her two nights before. "You're-" He silenced her with a finger to the lips. "The name's Envy. And you're coming with me, babe." He hefted her over his shoulder and took off onto the tops of buildings.

"Excuse me miss." A blonde nurse at the counter of he infirmary scanned through her papers and completely ignored Edwards plea. "Hey!" He called up her once again. This time she acknowledged the voice and scanned the lobby of the hospital when she found nothing, she returned to her work. Now he was frustrated. Edward jumped onto the desk, which was a great feat for him considering his height. "HEY LADY!" The bright-eyed woman sprung back in her chair. "C-can I help you?" He knelt down in her desk, examining her log book of patient. "I'm here for her." He pointed to Charlotte's name, next to it was the word in red : "DISCHARGED" "You took her with you this morning, except you weren't so violent, you were a bit taller." His eyes flashed with a fiery intensity as he bellowed "WHO YOU CALLIN' SHORT YOU FAKE BLONDE BIMBO!" His expression went from insane to concerned in an instant. "Wait, this morning?" The nurse nodded as she held up her hands in self defense. "Shit." He leapt off the desk and out of the hospital.

"So. Charlotte, is it?" A large-busted woman stepped from the darkness that consumed the room with such loud silence. "I think by now you know what we're after." Said blonde girl struggled with her arms tied behind her back, she was latched to a chair. "This is such a typical bad-guy set-up." Lust shot her outrageously long fingers toward Charlotte, sticking her index right into her transmutation circle upon her chest. Blood spilled down the front of her gown as tears poured like rain down her face. "I see. Your body already dissolved the stone." Lust withdrew her hand with blood spilling all the way back to her. "Your definitely not human." Charlotte's breathing became sporadic as the blood poured down her legs and out her mouth. Her head was pulled backward by her long blonde locks, a large drooling man scanned her sad features. "Very beautiful indeed Envy. You sure know how to pick them. He opened his mouth wide, trying to swallow her whole. Before he could even touch her, her chair was pulled forward and her nose was touching Envy's. "You can't eat her you dope, the stone's gone." Said the hoarse voice. "Hey there, I'm here to put you out of your misery." He brought her head down and slammed his knee into her stomach, sending a splatter of blood onto Envy's face. He cackled in her demise that was in his hands. The ropes she was tied to came loose and she tumbled out of the chair, her limp body lying on the concrete of the abandoned building. Envy leapt to her side and pulled back her head by her hair. He was transformed into Edward now. "You know Charlotte, sometimes love hurts." He said to her in the cover of Edward's voice. Her eyes filled with tears at the though that the boy she secretly loved was about to kill her. He picked her up by the collar of her blood stained jacket. "I always loved Winry more." He grinned wickedly, his nose scrunched up. He tossed her into the air and punched her with full force in the stomach, once again. Now there was internal bleeding, the blood seeping out her mouth more rapidly. She just lied there, convulsing and wallowing in her own blood. The it all went dark again, just as "Edward" approached her.

"Welcome back Charlotte." She opened her sore eyes, she was still dressed in her bloody attire, the white hospital gown now almost completely brown. She was back at the gate of Truth, though this time, a body sat cross-legged amidst the pure white. It turned lazily to her, it's dead eyes staring into her soul. "You're back." Said the blue zombie-girl. Charlotte approached her with caution. "You're me...when I was killed the first time." The living corpse stood and walked to her. She wore a light yellow summer dress that came to an end at her knee caps, a diamond necklace hung around her blue neck. The bullet wound clearly visible on her chest still The pale doppleganger touched the circle that adorned her chest, closing her eyes. "Your duty hasn't been fulfilled yet, Charlotte." She paused and opened her eyes. "You must go back. The stone is now in circulation through your immortal blood, I'm sending you back." The gate creaked open and Charlotte was shot backward into it. "Best of luck."

"Go ahead and eat her now Gluttony. She's dead." He kicked her lifeless form, Gluttony bent down over her and opened his large mouth. Suddenly, a transmutation circle appeared around her body. Her body standing up on it's own. Light flashed from her eyes as the transmutation circle at her feet grew brighter and the light spun faster. Envy was hurled backward along with Gluttony, both skidding to a halt with their feet, Lust simply covered her face with her claws. From the dust flew a newly formed Charlotte, darting right for Envy. She grabbed him by the throat and dug her nails into it, drawing blood. Her eyes still glowed an unearthly red. She tossed Envy to the side as Gluttony attacked her from behind, he wasn't fast enough though, she kicked him into a column which shattered upon contact. Half of the building collapsed on the Homunculus, leaving one left. Lust just stood at the banister casually, watching the whole while. She grinned and flexed her claws, lurching them toward Charlotte. She gripped her fingers tightly, snapping the ends off, she threw Lust into the air as she nimbly scaled the forgotten walls, meeting lust in mid-air. She threw a punch into her so hard that she fell through the cement floor, and the one below that. The whole building just collapsed from all the destruction, Charlotte standing amongst the rubble.  
>"Charlotte! Wholy shit! Is that you?" Her eyes still glowed red, but she could make out her closest companions coming to he aid, the fury faded away as Edward ran to her side. She looked down at herself, her clothes still were soaked with blood but her wounds had healed, and in place of them was a symbol on her right hand. It was a red dragon swallowing it's own tail. "Didn't I tell you I could save myself?" She smiled sweetly at Edward before collapsing into his arms.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 : Satin Dolls And Sad Goodbyes"She's free of any sort of lesions; the blood must not be hers." Said a male voice, it was deep and rich. "So she's alright?" This time a much softer and immature voice spoke, it was laced with concern. Then silence. And not the kind that everybody enjoys between laughs or an awkward silence. No, this was a confused, concerned silence, like the kinds at funerals. "I think she's coming to." She gripped the indigo sheets beneath her body, twisting and turning to enthrall herself in the comforter. She reluctantly opened her glazy eyes, shielding them with her freshly-marked hand from the sunlight. "You're awake." 7 figures hovered over her bed, each one of them with their own form of distress and anxiety plastered on their faces. There was a blonde outcast standing at the window, arms crossed over each other. "Yeah. I'm awake." She reinforced everybody's correct examination, looking over her entire body to ensure the missing wounds. "You okay?" Charlotte swung her bare feet over the side of the hospital bed, her feet slapping the floor with an echo. "Yea. I'm fine actually." Her old hospital gown had been stained with blood, along with Edward's jacket. She gestured to a suit case, then pointed to the bathroom. "I'm going to get changed." They all just nodded and allowed her to use the restroom. "What's wrong, Fullmetal?" Inquired the dark-haired Colonel, as he strode to the window to stand beside him. "I said she was okay, why the long face?" Edward continued to stare out the window as he spoke. "I'm….I'm just confused right now. I need space to think." He calmly changed his direction as he wedged his gloved hands into his pockets and miserably staggered out the hospital had accommodated himself on a bench outside of the Infirmary; sprawling his arms out on the back and stretching out his legs. "Mr. Elric?" Asked a tall mustached man, draped in military uniform. "Fuhrer Bradley!" The fair-haired teen bounded to his booted feet, saluting him swiftly. "May I ask what you're doing here Sir?" Bradley nodded, hands latched onto each other behind his back. "I've come to see your friend, Charlotte." He then embarked on his walk to the Hospital doors, Edward scampering to his side. "You'll take me to her, do you concur?" He constricted his eyes with suspicion, was this a threat? "Is this the room to the legendary Charlotte Blair Wintercrest?" The entrance to her room was thrust opened as the Fuhrer strode in gallantly, with the not-so-graceful Edward spilling into the room with him. "Yes sir, this is her." Said ringlet haired young woman was resting in a rocking chair a few feet away, dressed in a white cotton dress that was belted at the waist. Her hair was damp from her recent bath, flattened to her head. "Hello, miss." He outstretched his large, masculine hand, she retch up and shook it with her Ourobouros marked hand. "Fuhrer Bradley." He smirked as he turned it over, palm down. "That's a mighty fancy tattoo you got there." Her jade eyes flickered with curiosity, licking the whites of her eyes like a candle flame. "I just would like to ask a few questions, we would like to get a better idea of who you are." Her eyes then became lifeless, lacking their innocent luster. "No." Was her answer, she held firm to it too. Bradley's grip on her hand became tighter as he held her gaze. "I thank you for your time, miss Charlotte."The train station was hectic, as was typical on a week day. Roy was halted before Charlotte and Mason, awaiting the next train home. "It was a pleasure to become acquainted with you both." They both took turns shaking his hand as Edward hauled their luggage aboard. "I could use some help here!" The straw haired boy roared as they rushed onto the train to assist him."Oh, my sweet Charlotte, I shall write you!" She shook Ling's hand off her wrist and helped him off his begging knees. His dark eyes pleaded with her not to leave, though he knew she must. "Bye Ling." She leaned forward, planting a light kiss on his cheek. His face reddened viciously as he touched the spot where her lips once lingered. It was safe to say that his lifelong dream had been fulfilled, even if the relationship was one-sided. "You've been really sweet." Charlotte smiled as his eyes welled up with tears, brimming the edges of his eyes. She was enveloped in an adoring embrace, Charlotte wrapping her arms around him. "I'll look forward to your letters." Mason broke up the love fest by unlatching Charlotte from Ling's grasp. She waved to the pathetic, lovesick boy as she boarded the train. "Alphonse!" May trotted to the empty suit of armor and tugged on his azure apron with a melancholy look on her face. "You'll come back, right?" She inquired innocently. "Of course May." Her features quickly brightened into a blue smile, handing him a small cloth doll. "Give this to Charlotte for me. Please," He nodded and boarded the train along with Charlotte, Mason and Edward.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Stutter"Edwaaaaaaaaaaard!" A sweet voice sang as he stepped off the train. A fair-haired teen had bombarded him with a hug as he let the luggage fall to the cement. His arms stayed glued to his side, for fear of an uncomfortable moment, as if this already wasnt. "Welcome ba-" Winry eyed the blonde stranger as he stepped off the train behind Charlotte. They were holding a conversation about alchemy, she kept asking him about the blade he transmuted and wondered how he figured that out. He seemed more interested about the fact that she had taken down three Homunculi on her own. "Hey!" She scuttled over to greet the new boy who resembled Edward to a certain extent. "Hello miss...?" He offered his hand for her to shake. "Winry Rockbell." He retracted his hand and cocked a sly grin. "So this is Winry, boy, I haven seen you in a long time." Winry cocked her head in curiosity and uttered a pathetic "Uh?" "Its Mason." Her eyes instantly lit up as she enveloped him in a hug, just as she had Edward. "I didn't even recognize you! You've grown." She giggled and pulled away from him, she was slightly taller than he was, not making him too happy, still it was nice to be reunited with his old friend. Charlotte was sitting on one end of the depot, her legs crossed on a wooden bench. In her hands was the satin doll that Alphonse had given her from May the previous day. The doll was an almost exact replica of her, long gold hair, the right side hiding her green button. It was dressed in the same dress she was wearing presently. "May asked Al to help her transmute that for you, she considers you as a sister." A shadow had fallen at her crossed feet, it belonged to Edward, he had removed his Flammel coat and was dressed in only his cut off tee and pants. "She said she wanted to capture your beauty." He took a seat beside her, leaning back to widen his arms out over the backing of the bench. "Aww, she really said that?" She asked, even though she already knew the answer, clasping the doll to her her heart. he nodded. "I think she did a perfect job." He never looked to her, but she could tell he was blushing, even though the compliment was subtle, she appreciated being told she was beautiful. "You guys even got all my symbols right. " She peeled back the dress to reveal the Flammel that sprawled across her back. "Can I ask you something Charlotte?" She looked up to meet his gaze, this time he stared her right in the eyes, feeling like he had attempted to peer into her soul. "Anything." Charlotte covered her Ourosborous symbol with her left hand and continued to stare up at him. He took in a mouthful of air and turned back to glare forward. "Why did you..." He exhaled and turned back to her, face flushed. "Why did you ki-" "Hey Ed!" He reluctantly turned to find Winry staring down at him, a stern look on her face. "Where are you planning to put everybody here in Central?" She was right, there were few apartments in HQ. And Charlotte and himself had taken up two. "Uh, maybe you and Charlotte could share; we can have Mason..." He turned to Charlotte to assure it was okay with her, she nodded and sat forward to look over Edward. "Charlotte! Goodness, I didn't even know you were here! Im sorry." Winry cried as she ran to hug her friend. "We're gonna be roomies for the week!" The warm season had cooled down, to the point of leaves turning different hues of red, orange and brown. It was around that time, around the day of their birth. The crisp autumn air blew through the city like a melancholy wind, a canopy of dark clouds loomed overhead. "Hey Ed, it's fall. You know what that means." Winry and Edward had decided to take a walk to catch up, leaving Charlotte and the others to their apartments. "Yea." Winry was wrapped in a pink coat, with denim jeans tucked into blue boots. Ed, walking oddly with his hands stuffed in his pockets, was draped in his usual Flammel jacket, though he had transmuted it into a thicker coat. "When's Charlotte's birthday?" Winry tried to make small talk as she gazed up at the dark clouds, it was peculiar, they hadnt accumulated earlier when her friends arrived from the train. "I don't think she knows, Winry. She only remembers her name and age." Ed sighed as it began to rain. Soft at first, then pouring and coming down in sheets. "Winry, maybe we should start heading back." Edward offered as he pulled his hood over his braided hair. "No." She kept walking. " I have a question, and you have to answer it sincerely." Winry came to a halt in front of a crosswalk, the streets werent busy on this day, but she stood there nonetheless. "Okay. I swear on my life I will answer sincerely." Edward put his automail arm over his heart. "What is the relationship between you and Charlotte?" His truthful face quickly melted into a guilty mug. "Winry," He took her hands in his, his automail insanely cold. He looked down to his shuffling feet and sighed heavily. "There's nothin' goin' on between us. I assure you." Charlotte had decided to visit with the boys for a while, seeing as her roommate had took off on her. Mason and Alphonse were playing cards at the kitchen table as Charlotte creaked open the door with he eyes clamped shut. "Are you guys decent?" She yelled into the room. Mason lied down his cards and hollered back : "Come on in." She slipped inside and closed the door behind her silently: She was dressed in much warmer clothes now, grey sweats and a blue tee that was loose, but just tight enough to exaggerate her curves. She invited herself to have a seat with the two men at the table. "Hey Charlotte."Said Al as he smiled through his armor. She waved and sat criss cross in the wooden chair. "Hey Al. I thought Ed was here." She said as she leaned back in her chair to crane her neck around the corner and examined the room. "He went for a walk with Winry." "Winry huh?" Her left eye twitched as she balled her hands into fists in her lap. Mason and Alphonse looked at each other, both cocking a brow, though one was non-existent. "Why? Are you afraid she's gonna run off with him?" She pounded her fists on the table, her knuckles white with the intensity of her anger. Her voice came out surprisingly calm. "No. That's not it." Mason and Al scooted their chairs as far back to the wall and away from her as possible. After seeing what she could do once she was angry, they were cautious. She brought her head up and placed it in her hands, under her chin with a forlorn face. "So, what is your relationship with our brother?" Asked Mason as he tried his best not to anger her. Charlotte's eyes practically exploded right off her face, she played with her hands, and was reluctant to she WAS eager to vent with somebody about her relationship with Edward. "Well, I'm n-not quite sure about how he f-f-feels...but I do think I consider him more than a..." She swallowed hard, realizes she was about to tear the heart from her chest and allow them to just flip through the pages of it. "F-f-f-friend..."


End file.
